This will be the biggest hunt they will ever face, and she wouldn’t deny that it is also scaring her. She turned to Karina, and she was probably thinking the same thing that was going on in her mind. They know. They definitely know. "It’s a murder of crows." She mumbled a code. The brooch they are wearing has a built in mic that connects to the hunters outside. It was the code they used to say that their mission had been discovered and that possible danger ensued. Karina bit her lower lip, not knowing how they would handle the situation. Alice remained cautious. The party is still going on, but she could feel stares around, all directed at them. Her eyes started roaming the place. She found Arianne at one side, dazed and not knowing what to do. They couldn’t put in an earpiece as it would be too obvious if all the hunters would wear one, but Alice knows that most of them had figured out what was happening after most of the vampires entered the hall. She calmly walked and went towar
"Damn you…" The vampire exclaimed as they brawled. Lucas is still strangely conscious despite being shot in the head. Carl must have missed as well, but Alice had no time figuring that out. She pushed the vampire away, quickly grabbed the first gun she could find, and shot the vampire again to his feet to stop him from moving. She ran towards her and targeted his chest this time, skillfully missing his heart so she could enjoy seeing him turn into dust. Alice grinned, letting her victorious smile be the last thing the vampire would ever witness. "Die, you monster." She plunged the knife into the vampire’s heart with accuracy until the vampire turned into dust. She lifted her head and quickly grabbed her gun to shoot the vampire that had almost sneaked behind Carl. She also rushed to crush the vampire’s heart before it gained consciousness again. "I was supposed to say that I owe you one, but the favor quickly paid off." Carl couldn’t answer immediately. Alice did shoot the vampire b
"It’s already over. Why do you look like you’re still out of it?" Allen watches Louise walk out of his new room. The man was smiling but spacing out at the same time. He just stared at the vampire, not knowing if he would ever be used to having another person around. Louise is too odd for him! Louise continued smiling despite the hostile greeting, "Sorry. I've just never felt this light before. I feel a lot better, and I wasn't used to it after weeks of feeling miserable." Allen heaved a sigh, "That’s because the master doesn’t really put authority on us. You’ll know it once he does. It must be like the same feeling you had back when you weren’t his servant." He was simply guessing, since they became vampires in a slightly different way. Elijah only imposes authority over him whenever he loses control or in certain situations when he needs an intervention. Over time, it lessened as Allen learned to control himself. "But why are you smiling like a fool? It’s unnerving." He had to ask
Alice brought Gardenia to her mother and the child immediately rushed to her mother. The night they came back, Gardenia was still doing her best to stay awake and wait for Alice and Karina. The child also bawled at seeing Alice alive. She went to her and Karina, embracing them with tears. It was the first time that Alice truly felt relieved that she had come back alive. She wasn’t expecting it to come from a child who’s basically a stranger. She could already miss the child, despite having a few more days to spend with her. There was no certainty that Gardenia feels the same, but the child has definitely etched a core memory in her mind. If she managed to live, then she is one of the people that Alice will forever remember. "Some of my colleagues are brought here too. I’ll leave you two to talk." Alice said with a smile. Sheena turned to Alice with worry after hearing her remark. She heard that there was an important mission yesterday, which is why they couldn't visit. She was one o
Alice smiled as well, "You can’t change my mind. But if both of you are this energetic already, I think I should continue suggesting remedial training for the both of you." Art quickly groaned, not wanting to spend more time training again. They already have mandatory training, and it would be a huge pain if they had to do some more. "We already lack members in our team. If you leave too, then we’re down to six members. You don’t have to leave." Carl insisted. He wouldn’t be this insistent if he knew that Alice was doing this on her own accord. Alice might not admit it, but he is sure that she was already attached to their team. She also started to appreciate working with a team rather than always working on her own, like she used to always do. The habit is still present, but they see Alice trying her best to work it out. He simply doesn't believe that Alice would easily disregard that if she didn’t have a huge reason for it. Alice snorted at his argument, "Please, you perfectly kno
Alice didn’t waste time and rushed outside. If there’s one thing she's sure of, it's that she should never ignore her gut feeling. She looked around cautiously. It was still early, and the hospital never really ran out of people, but because they were in a different building, the only people she saw were a few medical personnel leaving the building. She didn’t simply give up and continued looking around until she arrived behind the building. There was no one at the moment, but she continued looking around, bringing out a knife, and keeping herself alert. It was a mistake not to bring her gun today. "You’re pretty sharp for a human." She heard a familiar voice from behind her. Alice didn’t hesitate and attacked the vampire behind her, but Elijah easily dodged with his speed. The only regret Alice had right now was that she didn’t have a gun with her. She glared at the vampire and didn't hesitate to land another attack. The vampire dodged all of her attacks with ease, as if teasing th
"Wait." Louise lifted both of his hands to shoulder level, asking for a break. "Let me breathe. I think I’m going to die." Allen lowered his guard and let the vampire land on the floor and rest after four straight hours of training. Vampires are naturally adept at fighting, but having to train their senses and reflexes is still a must if they want to survive the hunters and improve control. He glanced at the vintage clock hanging in the living room. Louise’s eyes widened after he realized what time it was. He had no idea how he lasted for more than four hours. He couldn’t even remember how many punches and kicks he had endured because Allen wasn't taking it easy at all. Louise was starting to think that it wasn’t really training but just straight up beating him up. "Get up. I’m barely even moving around because I don’t want to ruin anything in the house. A few more hours, and we can train outside. Just think of this as your warm up." Louise couldn’t believe what he had just heard f
Alice absentmindedly entered Black Lotus’ office. She was so out of it that she took the cab earlier to bring Gardenia back to the headquarters. She'd have someone pick up her car later. She is just sure that she couldn't drive with a straight mind earlier. The anger and pain in his voice continued to resonate in her mind. She was the victim here, or that was what she thought. Everything she remembered from her past lives was Elijah killing her in cold blood. It was clearly her that lost the chance to live decently with him tailing her all the time and killing her eventually, so why? Why was she affected by his words, and why does she feel so guilty right now? "Alice, what happened?" Her train of thought was cut short by Clarisse’s voice. She lifted her head and looked at her, not realizing that tears were already flowing out of her eyes. Her mentor’s eyes widened, "Why are you crying?" She was truly alarmed, as Alice doesn’t easily shed tears. The last time she cried without Elijah
"Why are we called here?" Klaver asked as he arrived late and had no idea why they were called by Black Lotus again. Karina shrugged, "Not sure. Maybe we’ll get a new mission?" They all went inside Clarisse’s office with anticipation. None of them did anything wrong lately, so they were confident that they were not here to be scolded by their head. Clarisse took a moment to look at each of them. They even held a birthday party for Alice and Carl the other day. She saw how happy they were. It’s just a shame that Alice couldn’t live as a human, even if their circumstances had already changed. "Did we mess up again? Please don’t tell me we’d have to attend trainee classes again." Art spoke up after he couldn’t take the silence anymore. She smiled, "No. Unless you did something else I wasn’t aware of." "We haven’t broken any rules… lately." Carl promptly answered as he was tired of being reprimanded. She pointed at the envelope Alice left for her group, "I called you guys to give yo
"You need to feed." Elijah kept looking at Alice. She was pale as she refused to drink any human blood. Louise continued to alternately look at Alice and Elijah. Alice was his enemy one moment, and now she appears in their house as a vampire. She demanded to join Elijah in fighting off the purebloods, which Louise still thinks is a suicide mission, but he has no abilities to stop his master or Alice. "I’m still Alice, and my hunter pride is still intact. I’ve been alive longer than you think. I could handle this." She simply refuses to drink human blood, even if everything in her is screaming to feed. Unfortunately, even a human soul couldn’t maintain her body as a human. Her body naturally went back to its natural form right after her mind fully awakened. Her abilities came back to her almost immediately. "Why are you insisting on coming anyway?" Elijah doesn’t know how he would treat Alice now. He remembers everything, along with all the feelings that he shared with Alathea. They
"Alice, Alice, wake up." Elijah had already gotten the location from Black Lotus and also received the blood flowers he requested. He was on his way to the given location when he felt a very ominous feeling. Instead, he rushed his way towards Alice’s house and found her unconscious with the charm he had gifted her on the ground. He checked if she was still breathing before lifting her towards the bed. Elijah has been trying to wake him up for five minutes straight, but to no avail. By experience, she looked like she was remembering her memories again. He doubts that the doctors would find anything wrong if he brought her to the hospital. "Alice!" He exclaimed and finally opened her eyes, and Elijah saw her eyes turn red, as of a vampire. She gasped and lifted herself from the bed. Elijah was staring at her with complete shock in his eyes. "Who the hell turned you into a vampire?!" There was fear in his eyes. He had killed all of her past lives, but now that he didn’t have to kill h
Humans either worshiped or feared them. They called them gods, not knowing that their belief was the one that strengthened them. At the same time, losing belief in creatures like her greatly weakens them. The more people forget about them, the sooner they cease to exist. She has existed for thousands of years. Time was fleeting, and so many things have changed over time. Her existence was fueled, not by belief but by fear. No one knows what she truly was, unlike other "gods" that humans have encountered. Instead, she was born out of fear of the unknown. It morphed in her over time until she developed a taste for human blood. Despite her efforts, she couldn’t stop what she had become, like all the monsters they had imagined. Before she knew it, she became a creature that survived on human blood and fear, and yet she still fights for her own instincts whenever she can. Alathea, or at least that is what she calls herself at the present time, quickly walked on a shade to protect herself
"Why am I called at such an ungodly hour?" She complained as she entered Clarisse’s office. Black Lotus didn’t tell her the reason why she was hailed, but she hoped that it was for a great purpose. "Alice, why are you here early?" Carl asked with curious eyes. "I was called by Black Lotus. Why are you here too?" She threw back the question. Carl pointed at Clarisse’s office, "She called me too. What is up? She didn’t tell me what this was about." Alice didn’t answer and walked ahead. She was now certain that it wasn’t about Elijah. Carl wouldn’t be called if it was. "Wait for me!" He exclaimed and caught up. They both entered the office and were welcomed by on of Clarisse’s secretary. She pointed at the door, "She’s been expecting you. Feel free to head inside." Alice immediately figured out that something was happening. Still, she went ahead and opened the door. "Happy birthday!" She heard party poppers and confetti flying over her and Carl. Alice looked at them with utter co
Alice went home with a heavy heart. She had had a bad feeling since earlier. It has been a bit peaceful after the incident of them being ambushed by the old gang members of their old enemy, but deep inside her, she knew that something bad would happen. She dismissed the worry, wishing that it was just her being paranoid. Elijah already killed the newborns but the pureblood who turned the humans was still alive. "Two of them were thrown in a dumpster, and the other one was just left on the streets." She recalled the report she heard earlier. Three of their hunters were killed relentlessly by different vampires, whom she assumes were pureblood vampires. The hunters that were disposed of in the dumpster like trash were killed by a woman, while the other one was killed by another vampire. None of them were the purebloods she saw last time, but they all thought the same after seeing the footage of how the hunters were killed. It was impossible that it had been done by a newborn vampire.
Allen let out an annoyed groan after he had just pulled Louise out of the scene when he saw hunters hovering near them. Louise was still out of it because of the high of the bloodlust still rushing to every fiber of his being. "What was happening?" Louise asked. His voice is deeper than usual, but he is slowly gaining consciousness about what is happening. He clicked his tongue, "Idiot. You almost got killed. Wipe that blood off your mouth." Louise’s eyes widened, and he felt more sober after what he heard. He touched his face and realized that Allen was right about the blood on his lips. There was something about blood that the vampire’s body was constantly craving; no matter how much they consumed, it would never be enough. That is why he doesn’t even realize that he is covered in blood as his body casually hangs on for that connection. He promptly wiped his mouth clean and used all the concentration he had to calm himself. They couldn’t walk around with his eyes glowing, and he
"Why are you all here?" Alice complained after seeing the rest of her old team. Art laughed awkwardly. "You didn’t check the notice again, didn’t you?" "What was it about?" She didn’t deny it at all. It was true that she didn’t bother reading it. Carl shakes his head. He was starting to wonder how Alice hadn’t gotten herself into any danger because of her carelessness. "We were set out as a group again. Because of what happened yesterday, we were advised to be careful just in case they were planning any group attacks." Kate was the one who explained the situation. Alice frowned and was about to leave, but Karina quickly managed to stop her. "Anyone is expected to follow the notice, and was told that anyone who would abandon their group will be suspended indefinitely. I think Black Lotus added that part just for you." Alice’s smile was oozing with sarcasm, but she had no choice but to follow them around. It took them an hour to find a vampire, and it wasn’t even a newborn. Elijah
She practiced her aim and poured her heart out while running. This time, she got the rest she wanted, and no one randomly appeared to bother her training. There were trainees who saw her, but no one dared approach her. She realized that they were put into self-training because there were no availability of trainers. It has never happened before when she was still training. If one of their trainers wasn’t around, there would always be someone who would step up to help. They never got to idle like that, and it somehow worried her. She shook her head. "What would be our future with these kids?" Alice couldn’t help but sigh after watching them from a short distance. She wasn’t expecting everyone to have perfect aim, but they were just bad. Alice couldn’t take it anymore and finally stepped up to help them. They all tensed up when Alice suddenly approached them, but she quickly told them that she simply couldn’t take watching them. "Skills are useless if your stance sucks. You’ll always